The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 9.0748  Monday, 10 August 1998.

[1]     From:   Richard A. Burt <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
        Date:   Saturday, 08 Aug 1998 18:24:24 -0400 (EDT)
        Subj:   Deep Inside William Shakespeare

[2]     From:   Robert Lloyd Neblett <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
        Date:   Saturday, 8 Aug 1998 17:52:08 -0500 (CDT)
        Subj:   R&J Porn

[3]     From:   Paul S. Rhodes <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
        Date:   Saturday, 8 Aug 1998 23:51:59 -0600
        Subj:   Re: SHK 9.0746  Re: Porn

[4]     From:   Richard A. Burt <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
        Date:   Sunday, 09 Aug 1998 23:19:53 -0400 (EDT)
        Subj:   Two More Porns

[5]     From:   Richard A. Burt <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
        Date:   Sunday, 09 Aug 1998 23:31:35 -0400 (EDT)
        Subj:   German Comic Book Shakespeare Porn

[6]     From:   Richard A. Burt <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
        Date:   Monday, 10 Aug 1998 10:32:43 -0400 (EDT)
        Subj:   Live Nude Shakespeare


[1]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From:           Richard A. Burt <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Date:           Saturday, 08 Aug 1998 18:24:24 -0400 (EDT)
Subject:        Deep Inside William Shakespeare

For those who are interested, I discuss the following instances of
Shakespeare porn (mostly hardcore) in a chapter (entitled "Deep Inside
William Shakespeare") of my forthcoming book, _Unspeakable
ShaXXXspeares:  Queer Theory and American Kiddie Culture_ (St. Martins
Press, October 1998):

Romeo and Juliet dir. Paul Thomas
Romeo and Juliet 2 dir. Paul thomas
Carnival in Venice (a gay Romeo and juliet)
Romeo and Julian (ditto)
The Secret Sex lives of Romeo and Juliet
Hamlet: For the Love of Ophelia (parts 1 and 2)
A Midslumber Night's Dream
Tromeo and Juliet
Playboy Twelfth Night
Othello: Dangerous Desire
Taming of the Screw

I became aware of _Exile_ too late to include it my book.  No doubt more
Shakespeare porn is in the works.

Excaliburfilms.com carries all of these except for Secret Sex Lives and
the gay versions.

Full biblio info on the films is in my book.

In addition, I discuss porn in canonical frilms such as Polanski's
Macbeth and Greenaway's Prospero's Books.

Anti-porn members of this list-serve will no doubt find the chapter of
no interest.

Members interested in porn, academic celebrity (I compare the academic
star to the porn star-unlike a Hollywood star, who is well-known to
everyone, both the academic and porn star are known very well only by a
relatively small group of fans) and / or in debates over porn among
feminists, particularly the contributions of pro-porn feminists such as
Linda Williams, Laura Kipnis, Andrew Ross, Judith Butler, and Constance
Penley may, however, find the chapter of some use.

My book lists for 29.95 (hardcover only for now) ISBN 0-312-21363-8.  It
can be ordered directly from St. Martins through their 1-800 number or
through Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com both websites (already list
it).

[2]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From:           Robert Lloyd Neblett <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Date:           Saturday, 8 Aug 1998 17:52:08 -0500 (CDT)
Subject:        R&J Porn

I hope that this all this heated discussion is not in regard to the
filming of the all-male "R&J" which is being adapted from Joe Calarco's
off-Broadway play.

Robert Neblett
Washington University

[3]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From:           Paul S. Rhodes <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Date:           Saturday, 8 Aug 1998 23:51:59 -0600
Subject: 9.0746  Re: Porn
Comment:        Re: SHK 9.0746  Re: Porn

A few points:  I did not presume to speak for the entire list when I
urged Mr. Cook to exercise better discretion.

Pornographic films cannot add to our appreciation of Shakespeare.  It
can only pervert it.  For example, Romeo and Juliet is a play about
Romantic (I do not use this adjective in the 19th Century's distortion
of the word) Love.  Romantic Love has both physical and spiritual
components, and both must be understood inseparably if this Love is to
be understood.  Porn treats only of the physical component of amorous
desire and, therefore, has nothing to tell us about what Romeo & Juliet
shared.  Now, I suppose one could argue that porn could supply us with a
contrast to Romantic Love and, thus, make us understand the latter
better by putting it in high relief.  Yes, but I think the Nurse and
Mercutio's bawdry do this adequately enough to render porn redundant in
this regard.  Of course, some may need visual aids, but I would think
that these do not read Shakespeare at all.

I disagree with Mr. Cook's decision to let Mr. Burt advertise porn on
this list.  There is no way I can make Mr. Cook agree with me except, I
would hope, by persuasion.  If my argument fails to persuade, it fails
to persuade.

I would like to point out that Mr. Cook has stated that he will not
allow a debate of the Oxford thesis on this list.  Surely, as silly as
the Oxford thesis is, it is worthier of discussion than porn.

Paul S. Rhodes

P.S. How does Mr. Wells know that the "Sade" in my e-mail addy does not
refer to the silky singer of "Smooth Operator"?  Okay, I am being coy.
Of course, Sade refers to the notorious Marquis.  I decided to use the
name in my addy after I was in a production of Marat/Sade, one of the
great dramas of this century and hardly pornography.  I would like to
add that Sade's writings include more than simply porn.  And even his
pornographic writings are not simply porn.  They show the philosophic
implications of porn, which is La Mettre's mechanistic materialism,
which is a dead end.

P.P.S.  This will be my last post on this subject.  I think I have
stated my position clearly enough.  You are all free obviously enough to
agree or disagree.

[Editor's Note: For the record, I do not consider Richard Burt's
postings advertisements for porn.  Richard Burt is interested in
Shakespeare as cultural currency particularly in the medium of film,
whether adult or popular cinema. All digests from SHAKSPER are clearly
identified, and anyone not wishing to read a particular thread should
vote with the delete key. HMC]

[4]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From:           Richard A. Burt <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Date:           Sunday, 09 Aug 1998 23:19:53 -0400 (EDT)
Subject:        Two More Porns

I forgot to add _Juliet and Romeo_ dir. Joe D'Amato and _Censored_ dir.
Michael Zinn (in the latter, a woman (Dyan Lauren) who overcomes her
writer's block by having sex with a number of male and female literary
and historical figures, the first of whom is Romeo (T.T Boy).  No
Shakespeare lines are quoted.  A reference to _Macbeth_ is also made.

[5]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From:           Richard A. Burt <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Date:           Sunday, 09 Aug 1998 23:31:35 -0400 (EDT)
Subject:        German Comic Book Shakespeare Porn

There is also a German gay porn comic book by Ralf Koenig called _Iago_,
a gay love story about two actors who are members of Shakespeare's
troupe, one white, the other black (who-surprise-is very well-endowed).
Their love affair is modeled on _Romeo and Juliet_, and ends
(relatively) happily.  This book has not bene translated into English,
as far as I know.  Amarantha Knight does  porn remakes of R and J and T
of S in her s and m rewrite of _The Portrait of Dorian Gray_, entitled
_The Darker Passions: The Picture of Doran Gray_ (in this case,
Dorian(ne) is a woman who cross-dresses and is bi-sexual.  Her portrait
changes gender).

In the September 1997 issue of _Penthouse_, the pet-of-the month is
compared to Juliet, and Romeo's lines "Oh, she doth teach the torches to
burn bright. .  ." are cited.

I am sure there are many other instances of which I remain unaware.

[6]-----------------------------------------------------------------
From:           Richard A. Burt <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>
Date:           Monday, 10 Aug 1998 10:32:43 -0400 (EDT)
Subject:        Live Nude Shakespeare

I just remembered that there is also a video out dir. by Michael Fox
called _Live Nude Shakespeare_.  There is an academic character who
interviews strippers who strip after quoting lines from the plays and
sonnets.

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